Toronto council candidate says Pride not about nudity

John Nunziata also defends Doug Ford against homophobia allegations

Some nearly nude revellers march in the Toronto Pride parade this year. City council candidate John Nunziata says that Pride is not about the nudity. Credit: HG Watson

City council candidate John Nunziata believes the Pride parade would be better without the nudity.

In an interview with the National Post, Nunziata, who is running in Ward 12, North York, defended Doug Ford against allegations of homophobia and then, unprompted, told reporter Richard Warnica that when he took his then 13-year-old son to Pride, they saw nude people — specifically, “men with their penises hanging out and their scrotums.” He added that “gay pride” is not about nudity.

He expanded on his views in an interview with Xtra, explaining that while he supports Pride, he believes that some aspects of it might be disturbing for a parent to have their children to see. “There’s some [nudity] that wouldn’t bother many people, but you know when it crosses a line — as a parent, that was my concern,” he says, adding that he wouldn’t want his daughter to see men naked or dressed in leather.

“Pride is not about nudity; it’s not about going out there with leathers on and walking nude and the emphasis on sexuality,” Nunziata says. “Pride is about appreciating, recognizing, accepting and showing to the world that it’s a positive thing. It’s not a negative thing, and we should be celebrating.”

Nunziata, a Ford family friend, decided to run for council after Doug declared his intention to run for mayor in his sick brother’s stead, according to reports. He says that the Ford brothers don’t agree on every issue. “I would certainly encourage Doug Ford, should he be elected, to attend [Pride], as well, and participate fully in the festivities.”

Nunziata also argues that if there were less nudity at Pride, it may draw larger crowds. Official attendance numbers from this year’s WorldPride celebration have not been released, but it is estimated that hundreds of thousands attended the parade on June 29. Sean Hillier, the co-chair of the Pride Toronto board of directors, says that the final attendance numbers will astonish people.

“Nudity at Pride is probably the smallest component of it, but it is still a very important one,” Hillier says. “It’s not about people going out to be naked to be sexual; it’s about freedom of expression.”